Sleeping Sickness
by pepperr
Summary: Hermione has a secret so big that shes forced to leave Hogwarts. How will Draco react when Hermione returns and discovers her secret that she's hidden so well from everyone?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE.**

**Familiar Faces.**

She hated waking up from it. The cold, moist feeling of sweat sticking her to her sheets. That feeling of pure terror caused by her nightmares had awoken her, but it was nothing new to Hermione.

For months now these dreams had haunted her, and not being able to control the parts of her memory that held her pain, anger, and grief sickened her to the very core. Being pulled slowly out of her dark abyss, Hermione Granger opened her sore eyes.

She sat up quickly, sweat coating nearly every inch of her body. Her hair was saturated; the sheets were cold and damp.

The memories of the Triwizard Tournament had haunted her every night since last year. She couldn't shake the dreams of Voldemort returning and killing Cedric Diggory. The only difference her dreams held was that Hermione had taken Harry's place in witnessing Voldemort murder. Not only that, but she was witnessing Voldemort kill Harry Potter - her best friend, right in front of her eyes.

It was the beginning of her 5th year at Hogwarts.

The Triwizard tournament had ended, and she was glad for it as just the thought of Harry facing those challenges alone had shook her to the bone, because they did everything in a three; herself, Ron, and Harry, and they would always be there for one another in the face of danger and she couldn't do that for Harry during the tournament. "It's a privilege, Miss Granger," Was what they would say. She thought it was sodding rubbish, she _hated_it.

Hermione threw her head back on the uncomfortable pillow, sighing. She craned her neck to her left, and then her right, and saw that Ginny Weasley and Lavender Brown were still fast asleep. Her sleepy eye sight focused on the wooden clock on the side table next to her bed, and she groaned as she noticed how early she had woken: 4.32am. This similar reoccurring dream had been troubling her for months now, and it was really taking its toll - she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a good nights sleep.

Feeling completely exhaustion overwhelm her Hermione pulled herself up, letting her elbows support her upper body weight. She dropped her head back, which gave a loud click in response, and yawned deeply.

Knowing full well that she would not be able to drift back off to sleep, she hopped out of bed and hugged her arms across her chest for warmth against the early morning draft. Moving with purpose, she tiptoed across the room, grabbed a fresh pair of under garments and robes before carefully tugging the door open just wide enough to allow her body to slip through.

"Hermione?"

She cringed, _damn it,_"Go back to sleep Ginny, I'm just going for a shower."

"What time is it Hermione? Please tell me you're not still having those dreams?" Ginny's voice was hoarse and Hermione could hear her shuffling in the bed.

"Of course not! Just thought I would get an early start, catch up on studying," she lied. Well- half lied, she was intending on studying even though it was completely unnecessary. These early morning starts had given her plenty of time to finish all her homework and studying for the weeks ahead. Studying helped to keep her mind off of _things._And, she had all these extra hours with nothing to do, so why not?

She bit her lip, hoping she sounded convincing. After all, the last thing she needed was Ginny constantly worrying- she would demand for Hermione to get a sleeping draught from Madam Pompfrey. She didn't _want_ a potion to help her sleep. In fact she was sure not being to wake up from her nightmares to reassure herself that it was just a dream would just make her nights all the more worse. She didn't want to know what the effects may be if she was under the influence of a sleeping potion.

"See you at breakfast, okay?" Hermione said chirpily, wrapping her towel around herself tighter.

She knew Ginny had fallen asleep when there was no reply. She envied the two girls for being able to sleep so well. The only upside of all of this was the fact that she was ahead of her grades, homework, everything.

Hermione headed to the bathroom, her naked feet slapping the cold steps of the girls dormitory staircase as she made her way down. As usual the Gryffindor common room was empty.

Locking the door of the bathroom after entering, Hermione allowed the warm and scented heat of the bathroom to soothe her airways. She sat on the edge of the bath closing her eyes and let the heat warm her cold body. Leaning over she turned the taps and adjusted the water to the right temperature, before removing her towel.

She leaned into the sink, suddenly feeling a little nauseated, and began rubbing her temples.

She looked up at her reflection. Her eyes were heavy, the lids drooping and the bags surrounding her brown eyes and pale skin were awful to look at! She turned away, not giving a second thought as to how dreadful she had been looking recently.

She didn't have to be like most girls - obsessed with hairstyles and make up, she hardly kept up with fashion trends. Personally, she thought muggle clothes suited her the best.

And as for boys, what boy would want her? Not that she cared. There was more to life than boys, things like good grades, good friends and finding things you're good at as well as a meaning for your life. She smiled weakly before slipping her dainty naked body into the tub, letting the warm water relax every muscle in her body.

ooo

"Hermione, why are you still wearing your robes?" Ginny had walked into the Gryffindor common room, a look of confusion upon her face. She sat herself down next to Hermione and crossed her legs before facing her. "Talk to me Hermione..."

Taking her eyes off her ancient runes book, she turned to face her freckled friend, "I'm fine okay? I know what you're thinking and the answer is no."

Ginny opened her mouth to protest, But Hermione cut her off and turned her attention back to her text book.

"Listen Ginny, there is no way I'm taking any sleeping potions - if anything it will make the dreams worse." She shifted around awkwardly.

Ginny sighed, "You really should change out of your robes, it's Saturday Hermione."

Hermione's mouth dropped slightly, and she flushed a little with embarrassment.

Ginny started to laugh, then stopped abruptly. Jumping up to her feet, she shouted "Oh god! Harry's playing today!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Alright, before you ask, yes I'll come with you," she knew all about Ginny's plan to impress Harry by showing up to every Quidditch game and practice. She found it amusing that Ginny always got so flustered around Harry and had taken to accompanying her in case she started to embarrass herself.

Hermione giggled as she stood up. "Just let me change first, okay?" Ginny nodded excitedly.

Hermione and Ginny headed towards the Quidditch pitch wrapped in layers of clothing. The grounds were covered in snow - it was an awful day to be playing Quidditch. It was the first match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Hermione didn't care for Quidditch, it was probably her least favourite thing about Hogwarts- if there had to be one, but she went nonetheless to support Harry. Not to mention Ginny, who wouldn't let her miss one game.

She thought it was cute though. In the back of mind she wondered _will I ever have that?_ That nervous feeling for a boy she fancied, the way Ginny would get nervous but giddy and blush every time she heard Harry's name. Hermione smiled to herself - _One day Hermione, one day._

Ginny was now staring at Hermione and noticed how her friend looked very deep in thought. "Hermione can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Hermione said, shaking the thoughts out of her head as they both stopped walking and turned to each other.

"You know how.. well, uh.. you know-" Ginny paused, looking at her feet before taking a deep breath before suddenly blurting the rest out in a barely coherent mess, "-Do you dream about Harry because you love him? In the same way I love him?" Ginny held her breath, not taking her eyes off that same spot on the ground.

Hermione couldn't quite comprehend, she couldn't actually believe Ginny would think that."Ginny No! I mean yes- I love Harry, but not in that way. I dream of him because Voldemort is back Ginny. I fear for his safety-" it was now Hermione's turn to look at her feet, as she was a little stumped for words, "-I would dream about you if you were in that sort of danger." Hermione looked up, fear flashing through her eyes. "I'll see you later Ginny," She turned on her heel and walked away.

"Hermione, wait!" Ginny called to Hermione but she was already gone from her sight so Ginny headed towards the pitch, now slightly angry with herself for being so thoughtless.

Hermione walked briskly back the castle, bumping into a few gaggles of people who were walking carelessly towards the pitch to watch the match. She felt bad for leaving like that, it's not that she was angry at Ginny, well maybe a little, but it was the lack of sleep.

How could Ginny accuse her of being in love with Harry Potter, her bestfriend? It was thoughtless, but Ginny often said things she didn't mean. Still, how could Ginny think she would do such a thing? Maybe Ginny did not know her as well as Hermione thought she did.

If love did this to people, if love gave people irrational thoughts and made them reckless, then love is something she didn't particularly want to experience. Infuriated at thoughts she suddenly shouted, rather idiotically "Fuck love!", and upon realizing how stupid it sounded coming out of her mouth she flushed a bright red, whipping her head around furiously to make sure no one had heard her.

"Did I really just hear the goody-good mudblood swear?" Hermione could feel the blood rush to her head as she turned around to see none other than Draco Malfoy smirking at her. _Oh no._

She sighed irritably. _Why out of all days, did today have to be the day that Malfoy heard me swear?_ She **never**swore! Swearing was foul and only spoken by those who had no respect for the witnesses of such profanity. "A Lady should never use Profanity," Was what her mother would tell her.

Malfoy spoke again, suddenly jolting her back to reality, "You could hardly be classed as a lady, now could you?" he cooed mockingly, raising an eyebrow. "You're a filthy, pathetic mudblood and that's all you'll ever be!" He paused, searching her cinnamon eyes for any sort of reaction.

Smirking as tears built up in her eyes, he continued, "What's wrong Granger? Are those tears that I see on that ugly little face of yours?" He took a step closer, looking down at her and laughing.

Hermione was ropable. _Really?_She couldn't bite her tongue any longer, "Sod off Malfoy!" she screamed, storming away from him. Blinking back her tears she realized she'd forgotten just how much she hated him, why did he have to be so cruel to her? _Oh, that's right, because I'm a mudblood._ She didn't care. She didn't want his approval, _she_ felt sorry for _him._

"Don't run away too fast!" She could hear him call out to her, "You might trip over those huge clown feet of yours!" she tried to ignore his last comment, She'd always been rather self conscious of certain aspects of her body. _But he probably knows that._

Hermione stopped running, and putting a hand up against a tree she found herself looking towards the river. She was exhausted, the running had completely taken up the little energy she'd had, and her lack of sleep meant the running obviously hadn't helped the situation. She dropped to the ground clutching her ribs. Laying back into the snow and staring into the sky above her, she was completely exhausted and upon closing her stinging eyes she drifted off to sleep.

ooo

_Hermione stopped dead still, staring straight ahead. It was dark and cold. It seemed dangerous._

_She turned around and saw a brighter path, a path where she could see Ginny in the distance, so she called out. "GINNY!" Ginny stopped and looked at her, her face dropping._

_"What do you want?" Ginny replied. Hermione went to speak but Ginny cut her off "Your going the wrong way Hermione! Turn around this path is not the one for you," Ginny sounded bitter, but Hermione couldn't understand why._

_Before she could reply to Ginny, Ginny transformed into Ron. He looked at Hermione and she could see the stress on his face. "Ron, what is it?" Hermione asked, beginning to feel rather panicked._

_Ron widened his eyes, motioning frantically with his hands, "Hermione, come this way. Please come this way!" He sounded desperate._

_Hermione went to step forwards to Ron, towards the Bright Path but her feet were failing her, for they would not allow her to step in his direction. Ginny Suddenly reappeared right beside Ron, "SAVE HIM! " she bellowed at Hermione._

_It was Rons voice who triggered the realisation of the dream she was in. "Hermione," Ron spoke softly, "You cannot save him, Your too late..."_

_Ron looked down, Hermione whipped her head around frantically and saw Harry. Dead. The life bleeding out of him, a knife sticking out of his stomach, "NO!' she cried and began trying to run to him-_

ooo

Hermione woke up clutching her chest. She was shaking uncontrollably and she could hardly breathe. She realised she was having a panic attack. Trying to steady her erratic, wheezy breathing and get to her feet, she realized it was a big mistake as her legs could not handle the weight of her trembling and exhausted body.

The next time she opened her eyes she noticed she was laying in the hospital wing. She felt a firm squeeze on her hand, and turned her pounding head to find Harry staring down at her, frowning. He was dressed in his Quidditch robes. "Harry? What happened?"

"You tell me Hermione." Harry replied, "There I was - mid game and about to catch the snitch, and then I notice you, laying near the lake covered in snow completely lifeless. I thought you were dead Hermione! What's going on?" Harry sat back in his chair looking completely finished, but for other reasons- appropriate ones that involved physical sport.

Hermione stared at him with her mouth slightly agape "What? How is this in anyway my fault? Has it ever occurred to you that it is _hard_for me to have to be haunted by these dreams. Do you think I actually _want_to be having these dreams? Of course not! I thought you could understand, but clearly not." She shook her head and pulled herself off of the bed, feeling very light headed. She didn't care, she didn't want to be there, being told off for collapsing with exhaustion from nightmares about the very person reprimanding her!

Harry sat there, confused at what had just happened. He knew he should have been more sensitive, but she needed to be careful! It's not every day you see someone passed out in the snow, he was only concerned for her. He felt like an arse but figured it was best to leave her be, it would be best to smooth things over in the morning.

Hermione went straight to bed when she had returned to the Gryffindor common room. As much as she feared falling asleep, she was just too weary and upset to stay awake. So she let her eyelids close over, forgetting her urge to keep them open.

A huge thank you to Lolaaaa for beta-ring this chapter! You're Brilliant!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO.**

**Violent Dreams.**

_Hermione appeared to be standing in the great hall alone, "Hermione", a voice that she couldn't quite recognize called to her._

_"Who's there? Harry is that you?" A tall figure stepped into view, but Hermione couldn't make out who it was._

_"Granger, it's me"._

_She turned around frantically searching for the door. She knew that voice, she didn't want to be anywhere near it. She tried to take off in a sprint, but was held back by a tight grip on her wrist. Whipping her head around, Hermione found herself right in front of Draco Malfoy, who looked very relaxed._

_"I don't understand" she whispered, pausing."Where is everyone?" Hermione stifled a sob._

_Draco looked straight into her eyes, "Everyone is dead Granger, and you're coming with me." He grinned evilly at Hermione as he started dragging her towards the door. Hermione desperately tried to release her arm from his vice like grip but he was too strong for her._

_The squeaks from the soles of her shoes as she was pulled along were starting to make her cringe, and her panic was rising by the second. "W-where are you taking me?" She stuttered, internally cursing herself for failing to keep her voice steady._

_"To dance Granger. You wouldn't want to let me down, now would you? You are my date after all..." He leered at her._

_She scoffed at his behaviour, "Let go of me Malfoy! Now!" his hold on her tightening was the only response she received._

_A stab of pain raced up her left arm causing her to drop to the floor, but Malfoy was still clinging onto her tightly, "Damn it Granger, why are you such a baby!" He hissed with malice. However, upon noticing the pain Hermione was in, he quickly released her wrist and fell to his knees beside her "Hermione, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-" He shuffled awkwardly, not sounding sincere at all._

_"You didn't mean to what Malfoy? Break my wrist?" She realised that he called her Hermione and it confused her momentarily. Why did he seem to care about her, why was he touching her? Malfoy and his pureblood ego would never touch someone who's blood was such 'filth'._

_His face suddenly contorted into a grimace, "Don't be ridiculous Granger! Of course you are filthy... I know what you're thinking and you are correct: I don't care about you." He laughed mockingly at her._

_"Me? Ridiculous?" She found herself barely being able to control her temper, wanting to lunge at him and punch him straight in the face, "You've broken my wrist Malfoy! I should hex your sodding ferret face right off!" She wriggled in her space on the ground, wincing as she folded her arms across her chest defiantly._

_"Watch your mouth mudblood," Malfoy warned as he got to his feet and stared down at the girl on the floor clutching her swelling wrist. He reached for his wand and pointed it at her. "This is what you get for disobeying my orders!" He stared into her brown eyes smirking evilly, before screaming, "CRUCIO!"_

Ginny was suddenly awoken by the sound of Hermione's terrifying screeches. She looked towards Hermione's bed to find her violently thrashing around in her sleep, the covers becoming entangled in her legs. Ginny jumped out of bed to attempt to calm her- there was always the threat of Hermione hitting her head on her side table and knocking herself unconscious, so she tried desperately to wake her. "Hermione wake up, it's not real Hermione, it's okay- wake up!" She screamed, "Lavender, get Dumbledore. Go now!"

The girl rolled over in her bed, running a hand through her unkempt hair before seemingly realizing the panic in Ginny's voice, and looking quite frightened she nodded vigourously before leaving the room.

Not long after, Dumbledore entered their dormitory followed by a nervous Lavender and ridiculously chirpy Madam Pomfrey.

"I can't wake her professor!" Ginny felt helpless as the words escaped her lips.

Dumbledore gave Ginny a reassuring smile before turning to Madam Pomfrey, "Madam Pomfrey, if you could?" he nodded his head towards Hermione. The nurse paced over while Dumbledore performed a small spell so that Hermione would be still enough for Madam Pomfrey to medicate her.

"The potion will calm her dreams and she will wake within the hour. Inform Ms Granger that she is to meet me in my office after she wakes." Dumbledore turned and walked out of the room, Madam Pomfrey by his side.

A bright light shone through the window, quickly growing brighter across her face. She smiled as the warm feeling of the sun spread over her delicate features. However, the light had disturbed her sleep.

She turned her head in an attempt to block it out, and frowned as her head began to throb. Hermione was definitely not ready to get out of bed. Knowing that she certainly could do with some extra sleep, she tried positing herself a little more comfortably, realising her but realized sheets were restricting her from doing so.

Admitting defeat she opened her eyes feeling rather annoyed, and now noticed her bed was occupied by another. With her vision being blurry and her eyes heavy she didn't realise at first who it was, but then noticed the red hair and straight away knew it was Ginny curled up at the end of her bed in a fetal position.

Making the decision not to wake her friend, she shuffled on the hard mattress and contemplated whether to see Madam Pomfrey for a migraine potion or not.

Hermione sighed as she pulled herself up the bed, and rubbing her temples she looked down to find she was still in her clothes from the day before. _What happened?_Then she gasped, realizing she hadn't dreamt about Harry last night for the first time in nearly four months, she had actually not had any dreams!

Smiling to herself as she realised this she got to her feet too quickly, which her head apparently didn't agree with. A sharp pain shot through her forehead and the room started spinning around her, only becoming worse from her excitement at the possibility that the dreams were finally coming to an end. She decided that a visit to Madam Pomfrey would be a good idea and slipped out of the bed, walking quietly towards the door before opening it and closing it quietly behind her.

Hermione paced along with a gallop in her step, beginning to feel silly. She felt awful because every time her feet landed on each step the agony in her head grew worse. Jumping down the stairs like this, however, reminded her of the way she use to run down the staircase every morning when she was little. Nothing could wipe off the smile that was planted across her face today, not even her sodding migraine.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE.**

**The Perfect Day.**

Hermione stepped out onto the landing of the Gryffindor tower, turned her head to smile at the fat lady and made her way along the seventh floor corridor.

It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders- she hadn't felt this cheerful in months. Deciding to take a shortcut after reaching the sixth floor, Hermione changed direction and headed towards the Hengist Rawkes portrait that concealed a hidden passage way that would lead her to the second floor landing where the Hospital Wing was located. The castle was quiet, she could only hear the sound of her clunking footsteps. Everything seemed so peaceful, it was going to be a perfect day with no disruptions.

Hengist Rawkes was fast asleep in his portrait when Hermione approached, so she cleared her throat loudly, and the man in the portrait jolted awake.

Rubbing his eyes, he spoke agitatedly, "Off to the library are we, Miss Granger?"

"The hospital wing actually," she replied, rubbing her tender head.

"It's rude to wake people when they are sleeping you know." He frowned at her.

His voice was tearing at her sore skull, "Yes and I am deeply apologetic but I _need_to get to the hospital wing may I please come through?"

"Very well, go in," He sighed, swinging the portrait open.

"Thanks," she mumbled before shuffling in.

After walking for a couple of minutes, she came to the end of the passageway and was now standing before the exit to the second floor.

As she pressed her clammy hand against the back of the portrait ready to step out she heard a voice. Hermione hesitated and dropped her hand abruptly so she could listen closer, and she pressed her ear against the concealed door, deciding to wait until whoever it was to pass before exiting.

Thinking the coast was clear, she opened the door. Her mouth dropped slightly at the scene she found- Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy, snogging rather passionately directly in front of her, seemingly totally oblivious of Hermione's presence.

Feeling rather embarrassed, she turned around to go back through the passage way before they noticed her. Suddenly though, Pansy's onyx eyes flew open, and she pulled her head back from Draco and turned to look at Hermione, her eyes narrowing.

"Well what do we have here?" She threw Hermione a look of disgust then smirked towards Draco, stepping away from him and turning to walk towards Hermione. "I thought I could smell mudblood," She said, putting her hand firmly against the portrait door. Draco smirked towards Pansy and stared at Hermione with hatred etched onto his face.

Pansy quickly slammed the portrait door into the direction of where Hermione was standing. Reflexively, Hermione put her hands up to stop the portrait from hitting her face. She felt the strong impact of the door smash into her left hand and a wave of pain suddenly shot right through her wrist, it felt as through a thousand splinters had just punctured and embedded themselves in her skin.

Her face drained of colour as a she tried to supress her agony. Knowing that this would give Pansy and Draco all the satisfaction in the world, she did her best to hide her exruciating pain. Hermione pressed her lips in a tight line as she glared at Pansy, wanting to lunge at her and smack the smirk right off her face. She feared she might scream out in pain if she opened her mouth, so decided it was best to stay quiet.

Hermione couldn't help think how strange this all was, it almost seemed like déjà vu.

What had seemingly been a perfect morning changed so quickly for her. _Damn Slytherins, always having to ruin everything!_ She couldn't stand the humiliation burning her insides. Her wrist, which was surely broken, was nothing compared the embarrassment she felt. Hermione composed herself on the outside, not wanting to break down in front of them, but on the inside she was screaming.

_Just leave, just leave, just leave._

Pansy let out an evil cackle before turning on her heel to walk towards Draco, and pulling him off into the other direction.

Hermione dropped to her knees clutching her throbbing and swollen left wrist, hot tears welling up in her eyes.

ooo

Ginny walked through the large double doors of the Great Hall, briefly scanning the Gryffindor table for her curly haired friend. She found Lavender, Harry and Ron, but no Hermione. Ginny took a seat beside Lavender, sighing as she sat down.

"How is she?" Lavender whispered, cupping a hand half over her mouth to ensure no one but Ginny could hear.

"I don't know- she was out of bed before I woke, I was hoping she'd be here..." Ginny replied, yawning. "I don't think I woke too long after she left, her sheets were still warm."

Harry looked at Ginny, befuddled. "Is everything okay Ginny? You look exhausted..."

Ginny hesitated, "It's Hermione" she paused, contemplating if she should say anything, "She's been having these horrible dreams and-"

"The dreams are about me, right?" Harry cut her off, looking down at his hands. He was still feeling bad about what had happened between them yesterday.

Standing up abruptly, he frowned as he thought about what Hermione had said to him last night. "I think I might know where she'll be, I need to speak to her."

"Harry?" Ginny began.

"Later, Ginny." and with that, Harry left.

Ginny couldn't help but feel annoyed at how short he was with her. _They're only dreams for crying out loud! Why is she so important?_She sighed, reaching for some porridge and filling her goblet with pumpkin juice.

Harry left the Great Hall determined to find Hermione as soon as possible and get things over with. He knew what Hermione was like- head strong, brave, proud. There was another side of Hermione though, a side that she hid so well from everyone but a side that Harry was sure everyone had. Certain things would hurt her easily, but only when she was vulnerable.

She'd never been able to control her temper towards Harry when he got her riled up, but only if she was upset to begin with. He'd seen her cry on numerous occasions as a result of someone pissing her off and making her already bad day positively worse. A certain Slytherin had often pushed her over the edge- the word 'Mudblood' affected her more than she made out, Harry could see right through her. The majority of the time Hermione shrugged it all off; it was only when she let her problems build up that things would turn ugly. Recently Hermione had become so fragile that the littlest thing would set her off. He didn't like seeing her upset or angry, especially when it had been because of something idiotic that came out of his mouth.

Harry reached the second floor breathless from the quick pace he had taken to. As he passed the Infirmary he's eyes caught hold of a girl a few metres away from him. He then realised it was Hermione, and she was kneeling on the floor clutching her arm. She appeared to be in pain.

Looking beyond her he noticed two people walking in the distance. Arm in arm the couple appeared to be laughing. Judging by that blonde hair, He knew instantly that it was Malfoy and most likely Parkinson by his side.

Harry hurried over to Hermione who was looking at her hand in silence. "Hermione, what happened?"

Hermione looked up, frantically wiping the tears off her face as she noticed Harry standing before her. "Harry, nothing I just – dropped something" she said propping herself up from the floor, "I was just on the way to the hospital wing for my headache."

"Look at your wrist! It's blue," he said, gently taking Hermione's hand to observe the injury.

Hermione looked away, blinking back her tears rapidly, "Who did this to you?" It was a stupid question, judging by the people who had just seen leaving the scene.

"I told you Harry, I fell..." She refused to have eye contact with Harry.

"No, you clearly didn't." He knew Hermione could be clumsy, but her being clumsy enough to fall and break her wrist seemed very unlikely.

"Come on, Madam Pomphrey will be able to help."

Hermione walked silently with Harry to the Infirmary.

"Harry I need to apologize for yesterday-" she said with a hoarse voice that was clouded with tears.

"That's not necessary, I was coming to apologize to you Hermione, I was completely unfair."

Hermione turned the corners of her mouth up, forcing a smile as they reached the double doors of the Infirmary and stepped inside.

"Oh! you poor girl," Madam Pomfrey said sympathetically, rushing over to Hermione. "What happened to you?"

"I'm fine!" Hermione replied, shaking her off. Hermione was growing agitated, honestly how bad could this look? It was only a broken wrist for heaven's sake.

"You can't be serious!" said Harry, raising his voice slightly. "You are clearly not fine! It's not just your wrist Hermione, have you looked in the mirror lately? We're seeing Dumbledore after this, end of conversation."

Hermione shot him a dangerous look. What right did he have too order her around? He didn't know what was best for her.

"Miss Granger will be attending Professors Dumbledore's office after she's done here, but for other reasons Mr Potter. I'm sure she can decide for herself if she wishes to discuss this incident with you." Madam Pomphrey pressed her lips into a thin line realizing this was an awkward situation, and tried to busy herself with the non-existant dust specs on her clothing.

"What other reasons?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"About last night, Miss Granger." She raised both eyebrows expectantly.

"Oh, because I left here without permission? I understand his concern Madam Pomfrey, but honestly I was okay to-" Hermione shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, pain still shooting through her arm.

Madam Pomfrey raised her hand to silence Hermione, "That's quite enough Miss Granger, I can assure you that Dumbledore has other concerns about you. Now, take a seat and I'll be with you in a moment." Madam Pomfrey turned on her heel, leaving Hermione and Harry alone in the infirmary. Hermione sat down. Staring out the window as she spoke, "You can leave Harry, I'm fine. I want to do this alone."

Harry looked at Hermione confused, "What?"

"What part of 'I want to do this alone' don't you understand?" She snapped a little.

Harry stood silent.

"You can't just tell me what to do..."

"Hermione, you know I'm only worried about you." He frowned, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly.

"Well don't be, I'm not a child Harry! I don't need you looking out for me everyday, I can look after myself! Just leave Harry, go." She spoke reasonably calmly but in a stiff and clipped tone.

Without saying another word, he turned and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**Relief.**

Hermione was released from the hospital wing a few hours later, her wrist thickly bandaged and a sling tightly supporting her swollen arm close to her body quite uncomfortably. Correcting the bone structure in her wrist had been pure agony. Madam Pomphrey had given her something for the pain which made her feel incredibly lightheaded.

She wanted nothing more than to sleep after such an eventful day, and decided she would go back to the Gryffindor common room after she had done what needing doing, and call it a day. It was still early as lunch was nearing, but Hermione didn't really feel like eating. She walked slowly down the corridor, her mind filling with troubling thoughts as she inched closer and closer to Professor Dumbledore's office.

What had happened last night? She had no recollection of any incident that could cause the Headmaster to be concerned. Hermione racked her brains and frowned as she started tracing back over everything that had happened yesterday, agitated that she had no ideas. She sighed to herself as she reached Dumbldeore's office and knocked softly with her good hand before entering.

"Ah Miss Granger, take a seat." The old man smiled at her as she entered. Hermione returned a weak smile before seating herself down on a chair opposite the Headmasters desk.

"Miss Granger, it appears that you have been experiencing some traumatizing nightmares. Miss Weasley witnessed you distraught last night, myself and Madam Pomfrey were notified instantly and you were given a potion to stop the dreams."

Dumbledore clasped his hands together, his deep voice became filled with great concern as he continued, "I once had an old friend who use to also suffer from traumatic dream experiences, and his dreams became so real that he couldn't help but begin to believe his dreams were actually happening." He paused, "My dear old friend attempted to kill himself as a way out of the nightmare he was literally living. But then he discovered this"

Dumbledore motioned towards a small pensieve. "This pensieve works in a different way Miss Granger. This pensieve combined with a potion, collects your dreams so you will wake every morning with no recollection of dreaming anything at all."

Hermione's eyes widened as she stared at her headmaster, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her seemingly dreamless sleep the previous night hadn't been dreamless at all- she had been given a potion in her sleep. Hermione came out of her thoughts as Dumbledore continued.

"As these dreams still occur and are collected, it is very important that you watch these dreams each day. Sometimes we dream in order to practice responses to threatening situations when they occur. Dreams are of course our subconscious mind telling us things that our conscious state is too blind to tell us. Dreams can also warn us of certain problems that are most likely to arise in our lives Miss Granger. It would not be advised that you go on without knowing what you have been dreaming about. There's nothing to worry about, of course, the dreams while awake will not be traumatic at all. I'll leave you to watch last nights dream and I will be placing the pensieve in the room of requirement after we are done here. I suggest that every day when you have time, you go over your previous night's dream and jot certain incidents down in a journal. The dreams in reality will only take about five, possibly ten minutes to watch. Is this okay Miss Granger?"

Hermione was befuddled, yet very impressed. Not to mention nervous as she knew every night she dreamt about was Harry, she was not looking forward to having to relive her nightmares when there was now the option of not having them. "Okay. Thank you Sir."

"One more thing Miss Granger. Last night you were quite violent in your sleep, and I was most curious. I hope you don't mind but I watched your dream- the cruciatus curse that had been used on you in your dream caused your body to act almost identically to how it would if you were actually being tortured with the curse. Another thing I find quite peculiar is your broken wrist..." He scratched his chin, frowning.

Hermione looked up, confused. "What?" She shuffled awkwardly in her seat.

"You will see for yourself Miss Granger. I'll leave you to it." Dumbledore stood up and handed Hermione a small vile that was filled with a silvery mist.

"I believe Miss Parkinson will be glad to hear how severe her punishment will be for what she has done," Dumbledore said, chuckling to himself as he left the office, closing the door quietly behind him.

Hermione sat still, trying to comprehend everything she had just heard. She was terrified to watch last night's dream. She knew almost certainly what she was about to witness. She wanted to leave, she didn't want to see it_._Hermione stood abruptly, deciding it would be best for her sanity if she didn't watch the dream. But the cruciatus curse? She had never felt the pain from the curse in reality... Hermione sat back down, defeated by her own curiosity. She bit her lip as she looked down at the vile in her hand. "Oh what the hell..." she said as she poured the misty substance into the pensieve.

Hermione took a deep breath, expecting her airways to close as she dipped her face into the pensieve. She felt incredibly light as she fell into the memory of the dream she couldn't remember. Her feet landed softly in a large empty room that looked strangely similar to the Great Hall. It was bizarre, Harry had tried to explain to her his own experiences of using a pensieve, but it was clearly inexplicable.

"Hermione." She turned around when a voice called her name in a calm voice, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Who's there? Harry, is that you?" Her attention was then turned to a girl that replied. She was standing in the middle of the hall, wearing a long white gown. This girl looked identical to her, only prettier and very elegant. Hermione took a step towards the girl to get a closer look.

The girl had to be Hermione, maybe the unconscious version of herself. She then caught sight of someone else that came into view. Hermione's eyes widened as she watched him walk towards the girl. Looking at the girl, or rather, looking at herself, they both shared the same look of shock as Draco Malfoy approached, walking right up to her dream state figure, and staring directly at her. "I don't understand..." the girl whispered, "Where is everyone?"

"Everyone's dead Granger, and you're coming with me." Draco smirked menacingly at the girl.

Hermione began to run towards them as soon as Draco had grabbed hold of the girls arm and was pulling her roughly towards the door. The girl appeared to be struggling, trying with all her might to release herself from his grip.

Hermione was speechless as she watched the two of them. She just couldn't understand, she dreamt about Harry every night, _not_ Malfoy. The girl then fell to the floor, followed by Malfoy who had dropped to his knees beside her, seeming slightly confused.

Hermione had stopped blinking, her eyes were collecting dust and starting to water. She had never witnessed such a thing in her life. Her thoughts flooded so wildly in her head that she could no longer concentrate on what was happening in front of her.

She did, however, hear Malfoy whisper her name and then apologize for hurting her. Hermione shook her thoughts out of her head and tried to concentrate. "You didn't mean to what Malfoy? Break my wrist?"

_He broke my wrist?_Hermione looked down at her bandaged arm. The room started feeling as the reality of the situation hit her in the face. This was not good. Tears were building up heavily in her eyes and blurring her vision, but they weren't flowing- an effect of the pensieve, she guessed. Her heart went out to the girl as Draco Malfoy raised he's wand, she felt sorry for her dream self...

Hermione pulled her head out of the pensieve, finding it hard to breathe as she placed her hands on the desk. "Calm down Hermione!" she yelled at herself, breathing erratically. Hermione then turned on her heel and ran.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**Blue Monday.**

Hermione woke to the sound of her alarm ringing, groaning as she threw her hand out to silence it- it had been a long time since she had woken to such a disturbing sound. It was, however, pleasantly comforting knowing that her alarm had woken her rather than her nightmares, it made her feel somewhat back to her usual self.

It was Monday, the beginning of a new week. It was also the 19th of September; the day of her 16th Birthday. Hermione sat up, cradling her left arm as she pulled herself out of bed before sitting in front of the window.

The weekend had been dreadful, but Hermione wouldn't have expected anything more. Ever since the nightmares had began interrupting her sleep and resulted in early morning study sessions, she'd found herself more ahead of her coursework than she had ever been before. The insufficient amount of rest had resulted in not only her being very much ahead of her homework, but by the time the weekend arrived she found herself with absolutely no work left to do.

The three weekends she'd had so far this year had been a disaster and she had grown to hate weekends. Not having a structured weekend set out as she normally would left her feeling anxious and out of control. She had hated the few weekends she'd spent at Hogwarts this year, mainly due to the fact that her weekends no longer consisted of study and finishing homework as they normally would. However, now that she had the help of the potion and pensieve, she hoped everything would go back to normal.

Hermione was feeling all over the place lately, but today she had class and for the next five days she knew that she would be reasonably content. She had a great sleep, thanks to Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. She could get back into routine of making sure she had a sufficient amount of homework that would keep her busy not only during the week, but on the weekends as well.

Smiling to herself as she grabbed a fresh change of robes and the vial which contained her most recent dream before heading to the bathroom. Hermione decided that today she would not cry, not on her birthday. For the rest of the week she would try her best to not let things get to her so easily- she had had enough of feeling sorry for herself.

Hermione stepped out of the bath, the sweet aroma of her shampoo fill her airways as she dressed quickly. She grabbed her things and left the Gryffindor common room. The paintings greeted her as she passed, and walking speedily towards the great hall, her ambitious thoughts and excitement of the morning had conjured her up quite an appetite.

As she neared the Great Hall's doors, she caught sight of Pansy Parkinson about to head in. Hermione took a deep breath and waited for her to go through before following. It wasn't that she was scared of Pansy, she just couldn't risk the troll getting a chance to ruin another one of her good days. Hermione stood there for a few moments, scanning the Great Hall for Ginny. She spotted her laughing along side with Ron, Harry and Lavender. Hermione made her way over to Ginny, taking a seat beside her before greeting them all with a casual good morning, purposely ignoring Harry's gaze. He opened his mouth to speak but Ginny bet him to it.

"I heard about what happened yesterday." Ginny gave Hermione a sympathetic look.

_Of course you did._ Hermione shifted her bandaged arm into a more comfortable position, "Madam Pomfrey fixed the break, I just need to wear this sodding thing for the next week."

Hermione poked at her porridge and suddenly lost her appetite- none of them had wished her a happy birthday. How could they not remember it was today?

"Are you okay, Hermione?" It was Harry who then spoke.

"Brilliant," she replied sarcastically without looking up.

"Hermione, I know that lately I've been a bit out of line," Harry began.

She frowned at her porridge, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her attention.

Before Harry had to chance to say anything more, Hermione stood up, slipped an apple in her bag and left the Great Hall without saying a word to any of them.

As she made her way out of the castle for Herbology she again noticed Pansy standing a few feet away from her, blocking her way, arms crossed as she stared at Hermione with distaste.

"What is your problem?" Hermione snapped, knowing whatever was coming would surely cause her to be late.

"Nice arm mudblood." She smirked, taking a step closer towards her, face was just inches from Hermione. "Better be careful you filthy little muggleborn, or you'll have more than just a broken wrist to work with," She spat, as a nasty smile spread across her face.

Hermione pushed passed her then let out a painful shriek as she crashed into something solid, her face colliding with the hard gravel, her books which were occupying her only good arm scattered all over the ground. Hermione's eyes shut tightly as she felt agonizing pain shoot through the side of her face.

"Oops," Pansy said, looking down at her pathetically as Hermione scurried quickly to collect her books, "Aw, another injury. Pity, for a moment there I thought you could look no worse," Pansy snickered before turning on her heel.

Hermione gritted her teeth, watching Pansy as she walked away from her, her nose held high in the air. She quickly stood, dusting off her robes, wincing as she put her hand to her face.

_One of these bloody days,_she thought as she hurried across to Herbology.

**ooo**

As she walked in, she noticed Ron and Harry sitting together in the middle of the class. Deciding she still didn't want anything to do with Harry, she chose a desk at the front of the room that was empty.

"Miss Granger, you are late!" Professor Sprout exclaimed.

Hermione tried not to pay too much attention to the dozens of pairs of eyes that suddenly fixated on her, her face turned a deep shade of red and she replied rather meekly, "I'm terribly sorry, Professor." Hermione was quite embarrassed, not wanting to lie to her professor or admit the truth about why she was late, she left it at that.

"No matter, no matter," she said impatiently, "Mr Malfoy, if you could sit with Miss Granger."

"Professor!" Hermione protested, her eyes dancing with fire. She could not possibly be this cruel to her on Her birthday.

Professor Sprout ignored her.

Hermione turned her head towards Malfoy who was making he's way over, a bored expression written all over his superior demeanour.

_Could this day get any worse?_She almost wanted to vomit, although the look on Pansy's face when Professor Sprout had paired Draco with her was priceless. She smiled inwardly, knowing how much this would irritate the Slytherin trollop.

Draco pulled a chair to the furthest end of the desk, before sitting down boyishly, lazily placing his books on the desk. He stared off into the opposite direction, completely ignorant of her presence. If he purposely hadn't sat so far away from her - most likely to avoid catching any kind of germ he was convinced she had, she may as well have been invisible to him.

A sweet smell of peppermint suddenly filled her airways, and upon realizing it was coming from Malfoy, she instantly put a hand over her mouth and nose in order to block out the smell, not wanting to enjoy the smell of him so much.

"Jesus Granger, as much as I'd enjoy seeing you choke on your own sick, I would prefer it if you didn't." He threw her a look of disgust.

She lowered her hand, "I'm not going to be sick you repugnant git!"

"Haven't you ever heard of a shower before Granger?" He shifted his chair further away from her, scrunching up his face. "Your dirty muggle blood is all over your face." Malfoy turned away.

"Sodding prat," she mumbled under her breath.

Herbology was a nightmare, she'd spent most of the lesson copping insults and deathly glares from Malfoy - he had been more repulsed by her scratched up face than he'd ever been with her before. Potions had been a lot better, mainly due to the fact that she had sat the furthest away from Malfoy as she possibly could, not having to even look at him all lesson made up for her horrible class with him prior to this lesson. Hermione chose a seat next to Ron, Harry on the other side of him.

"Today's lesson will consist of brewing the potion Felix Felicis. Felix Felicis works by increasing the luck of the drinker - it is most commonly known as 'liquid luck'."

The class filled with excited whispers.

"Although," Snape raised his voice slightly, and the class fell silent. "Any student who is stupid enough to keep any of the potion for themselves will suffer harsh consequences. You will follow my instructions and brew the one gallon of the potion, and if I find even one drop less when the potion is submitted, I will automatically fail you in your O.W.L's. Do I make myself clear?" Snape smirked, "I highly doubt," he paused looking around the class, his eyes focusing on Hermione, "That even_one_ of you could brew it correctly. Begin."

Hermione began furiously flicking through her pages, having read about this potion before - it took six months to brew. The potion was one of the hardest to perfect, overuse of the potion would cause the drinker giddiness and reckless behaviour.

Hermione smiled to herself as she read through the ingredients. Erumpent, Jobberknoll Feathers, Leech Juice, Newt, Powdered Horn of Bicorn, Pufferfish Eyes , Re'em Blood, Runespoor Eggs, Scarab Beetle, Snake fangs, Sopophoros Beans, Tentacula Seeds and Armadillo Bile.

Ron's mouth was hanging half open, staring at his potions book, "Bloody hell!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly Ronald."

Harry and Ron both stared at her bewildered, as she turned her face to speak to Ron, her scratched face came to view.

"Easy for you to say, Hermione. You're brilliant at potions, and what happened to your face? We didn't notice in Herbology..."

"No, of course you didn't," she replied bitterly, "The pair of you don't seem to notice anything these days." Hermione walked off, annoyed, to gather her ingredients.

By the end of a nerve racking potions lesson, she was relieved as she looked down at her cauldron - the description of her potion was exactly as it should be this far along into brewing,but she could hardly say the same for Ron and Harry.

The boys hadn't said another word to her after she had snapped at them at the beginning of the lesson, but she was pleased that she had reminded them how hot tempered she could be, especially when it came to interrupting her in classes.

ooo

After dinner, Ron insisted on dragging her off to the library with him to help him find a book for their transfiguration homework.

After over an hour spent in the library studying and listening to Ron complain about how hard the homework had been this year, Hermione had had enough and was having a hard time concentrating on her own work due to Rons constant complaining, so she decided she to go back to the common room and study alone.

"What are you doing?" Ron said as he noticed Hermione standing to leave.

Hermione yawned, "Ron, as much as enjoy this library, I would really like to get some rest." It was a lie, but studying with Ron was dreadful.

Ron looked agitated, "Please, just a few more minutes Hermione..."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, _something's wrong._"What's going on Ron?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, "Just, I really need your help with this Hermione, you know how terrible I am with all of this"

Hermione couldn't disagree with that, and sighed heavily before sitting back down.

By the end of their study session in the library, Ron had seemed more confused than ever.

He frowned the whole way back to the common room, mumbling to himself as Hermione walked silently beside him. She wanted this day to end - it hadn't exactly been the best day, only because it had been her birthday and she hadn't even received a sodding 'happy birthday' from any of her friends.

"Happy birthday, Miss Granger!" The fat lady sang happily as they approached her, Hermione turned to Ron who was now smiling. _The utter nerve!_ She thought, gawking at him. There it was, the genius clue that it was in fact her birthday, and nothing, nothing but a stupid smiling prat of a best friend.

Turning back to the fat lady Hermione almost shouted the password in frustration before entering.

Hermione stopped in her tracks at the scene in front of her, and a wave of shock ran through her body as a loud bang erupted through the Gryffindor common room.

"SURPRISE!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Lips Like Morphine. **

"Draco?" pansy spoke suddenly, her eyes lay focused on the pages of her magazine.

Draco sat silent, clamping his jaw together and gnashing his teeth.

He roughly folded the letter his eyes had been fixated on all night, before stuffing deep into his pocket.

_You will do as I say Draco, you will take Pansy as your wife._

The words had played repeatedly in his head.

"Which colour do you like best out of these dresses?" she continued, interrupting his thoughts. Pansy tilted her head contemplating, then flicked the page sighing angrily to herself.

He stared at her with hatred, he never really even liked the girl, sure she was good for a snog, but the thought of being tied to anyone, especially by marriage made his stomach churn.

"Stop getting so worked up over this Pansy, it _isn't_ going to happen." his voice was stern.

"Is there someone else?" Pansy was now staring at him in disbelief.

"There's no one else you daft girl, there isn't even you"

"Oh Draco" she smiled, her eyes again focusing on her magazine "you love me, just like I love you, don't you see? Were meant for one another" she licked her finger then flicked another page.

"Just because, our parents want us to do this, doesn't mean we're meant to be together!" he bellowed.

He stood up abruptly, snatching the magazine out of her hand.

Pansy stared at him with wide eyes as he began ripping the pages while he shouted "and," _rip_"there,"_rip_"will be," _rip_"NO MORE OF THIS FUCKING WEDDING PLANNING!" he threw the remains of the magazine into the fire, then turned on his heel leaving the common room.

ooo

The corridors were cold and dim, he didn't really know where was going. The further away from Pansy and her neurotic wedding behaviour, the better. After walking down a few flights of stairs he heard footsteps in the distance, he stopped when he noticed a girl with waist long dark hair, she walked along slowly in the dark. from the looks of it she was wearing night shorts and quite a relieving low cut top, squinting his eyes he almost didn't recognize her, he was instantly drawn to her petite body. Who was this girl? Someone he surely never noticed before at Hogwarts, his eyes widened as she neared him, her arm was bandaged, and hanging motionless beside her.

"What in god's name happened to your hair." he asked her, infuriated. The way she looked annoyed him, it was quite a change to her natural honey coloured curls. The black hair was defiantly an improvement. Not that he'd ever care to admit it.

"If you must know, Malfoy, it's my birthday"  
>She slurred, swaying slightly as she spoke.<br>"Jesus Christ, Granger. Are you drunk? Or just intoxicated by me?" he said in his usual arrogant tone, scrunching his face as the strong smell of vodka filled his airways.  
>Hermione laughed, "No" she replied, her voice dragging, before hiccupping.<br>Draco rolled his eyes, turning away from her.  
>"Where are you going?" he heard her say, her voice soft and eager.<p>

Draco stopped dead in his tracks. He walked right up to her and without thinking poked her in the face.  
>"Ow," she moaned, "what was that for" he watched her as she clumsily stepped away from him.<p>

Draco shrugged, "felt like it"

Hermione then smiled at him, Draco cringed. "You know" she said cheekily, before pulling out her wand. "It is quite late, and it _is_my birthday" she pointed her wand at Draco's face. "I could hex you, and no one would even know. It would be the perfect ending to my Sixteenth Birthday"

Draco looked at her, astonished. "What the sodding hell has gotten into you mudblood" he spat.

"And what makes you think I give a _damn_ that it is your birthday? Stop bosting about it like you're expecting me to kiss you or something."

Draco swallowed hard, immediately regretting his choice of words.

"Well that's fantastic to know" she said.

Draco watched as she tucked her wand gently down her bra, concealing in perfectly. He then gawked at her as she suddenly began lifting her top.

"What in Merlin's name, Granger" he growled, turning his head. "Stop trying to seduce me, that's disgusting"

"Not _every_girl in this school is madly in love with you, Malfoy." She mocked, a smile spreading playfully across her lips as she pulled out a bottle that was tucked inside her very revealing, silk cream shorts.

Oh boy was she drunk, He said to himself.

He watched her thoughtfully as she began walking, or rather, stumbling away from him, taking the occasional sip of alcohol.

Draco followed, not really knowing what had come over him. She lowered the bottle after taking another generous swig.

"How many people have you snogged?" she slurred again.

Draco froze, she seemed to be enjoying herself. It was as if someone had given her a babbling beverage. The words escaped freely from her lips, as if she wasn't thinking before speaking. Something Hermione granger wasn't known for.

Draco simple scoffed and continued to follow her.

"If I treated you the way you treated me, you would hate me."

"Your forgetting something Granger, I _do_ hate you"

"Then why are you following me?"

"You're drunk, Granger, these portraits talk, And I don't fancy being the last person on this earth to witness you alive, before you throw yourself off the astronomy tower." He smirked.

Hermione scowled. "I hate you Malfoy"

"Trust me, you don't hate me any more than I hate you"

Hermione simple shrugged and continued walking, Draco had never seen her like this. So carefree, so un-Hermione like.

"So your hair?" He finally said, "What happened to it? If you're trying to improve yourself mudblood, it isn't working."

He was lying, feeling the sudden urge to punch himself, he hated that she looked so good. He's never seen Granger look like this, she had never even looked remotely pretty before.

Even though she was the last person he wanted to see he couldn't fight the urge to follow her. And she was drunk she probably wouldn't even remember their late night encounter in the morning anyway.

Realising this Draco smirked.

Hermione stopped suddenly "I'm dreaming aren't I? Oh no, I fell asleep without taking the potion."

She was talking to herself, Draco decided to play along, it was the perfect way for him to continue whatever was happening here, without Hermione knowing it was actually happening.

"Of course your dreaming Granger, do you think _I_would ever waste my time talking to you, alone, at midnight, in reality?"

he felt ill, it was true, he wouldn't be caught dead alone with the 'mudblood know it all', but he just couldn't bring himself to walk away from her, he was intrigued by the drunk girl standing before him.

"Would you be drinking? Little miss bookworm, who by the way has long black hair."

Hermione looked convinced, "God Malfoy," she shot him a dangerous look, "I'm sick of dreaming about you"

She continued to walk, as Draco stood motionless, befuddled at what she had just said.

"What did you just say?" his curious voice called out to her,

"Oh don't act like you don't know, Malfoy, the dreams, my dreams!" she bellowed.

"Keep your voice down!" He hissed.

"Why! It's just a dream Malfoy" she paused, taking her eyes trailing off. "Isnt it?" her mouth fell open slightly, she was staring at him in sudden disbelief.

Draco stared at her in awe she looked irresistible. Mudblood factor aside, those amazing slim legs, that petite body, her face, so relaxed and looking at him the way she was, and the way her hair complemented the complexion of her porcelain skin.

acting completely un-Malfoy like and without a second thought, he stormed towards her and grabbed her arm fiercely.

"Yes Granger. It is a dream. If this was reality.."

He stopped, not knowing why he wanted to do it, not thinking about the consequences of what he was about to do.

He watched the fear spread across her face as she tried pulling herself away from him. This wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want her to run.

He loosened his grip letting her arm slip through his fingers, his skin brushed against her delicate wrist before tightening his grip again as soon as he felt their hands connect. Her fingers now intertwined with his own.

It all happened so quickly after that, he kissed her.

He had taken advantage of her, he didn't care so why was he starting to feel like an arse about what he had just done. Had he done it because he needed to take his mind off pansy and the arranged marriage, or did he do it because she was sloshed and incredible looking for the first time in her life. Draco Malfoy had most likely stolen Hermione Grangers first kiss and he was feeling bad for it. A wave of shock ran over him. 'what if she remember's this?' the thought frightened him.

He needed to do something and fast, becoming completely irrational and not thinking as clearly as he normally would, he pulled his wand out and stunned her.

Her body immediately hit the floor, the bottle of vodka smashed into pieces beside her, he watched as the alcohol spread across the floor and into her hair.


	7. Chapter 7

**Broken Glass.**

That night's encounter had lasted longer than Draco had thought. Daylight would soon be approaching, making the chances of getting caught by a teacher or another student much greater. Not to mention Filch and his late night strolls around the castle. He had to think quickly and get her body back to Gryffindor tower. Draco contemplated leaving her body on the floor to freeze overnight, but he found himself shaking his head at the thought. The possibility that she would remember everything that had happened would be highly likely if he didn't get her back to her room before morning.  
>He looked at her with his lips pressed tightly together; he needed her wand to light the castle while his would levitate her.<br>Draco leaned over her and shivered slightly as he withdrew her wand that was tucked down her bra.  
>"lumos" he muttered. Light instantly appeared from the end of her wand.<br>He then muttered a quick spell to dispose of the pieces of broken glass before levitating her somewhat lifeless body off the vodka covered, marble floor with his own wand. Carrying her would have been the easier option. But casting a levitating charm would suffice, he didn't want to touch her. Her floating motionless body lay limp in the air, her arms rested lightly across her belly, and her long black hair dragging down on the ground, drenched and sticky with vodka.  
>Draco cast an invisibility charm over her then scanned the castle briefly for prying eyes. Satisfied that they were alone, he stepped forward reaching out his hand to locate her body that was now invisible.<br>He moved very slowly toward her, careful not to touch any part of her that he shouldn't. Suddenly feeling something very wet, he dropped his hand immediately. His hand had come into contact with her very wet hair. Draco wiped it furiously on his robes, scrunching up his face at the whiff of vodka that had filled his nostrils.  
>Draco walked quickly toward Gryffindor tower, his wand held firmly in his left hand, and Hermione's in his right. Hermione was only inches in front of him floating at the same pace.<br>What the hell was I thinking? He thought angrily. Kissing her?  
>Draco slowed into a paced walk as he neared the Fat Lady who was snoring loudly, He looked around the castle once more before slowly lowering Hermione onto the floor, careful not to wake the Plump Woman in the portrait before him. Draco muttered the spell to remove the invisibility charm, and cast 'lumos' with his own wand so that he could return Hermione's.<p>

"Knox" He whispered, the light from Hermione's wand disappeared and he placed it beside her.

What now? He thought, He couldn't leave her here, she'd freeze. Casting a charm to wake the Fat Lady when he was far enough out of sight would bring her attention to Hermione.

Draco smiled at the idea and turned to leave.

"Who's there!"

Draco stopped.

"You!" it was the Fat Lady "What have you done to Miss Granger?"

Without a second thought, Draco walked quickly down the hall way, picking up his pace with every step that he took away from Hermione Granger.

ooo

She was freezing. A pounding migraine pulsated all over her skull. It was what woke her up, that and a shadowy presence that had flickered across her closed eyelids.  
>She willed her eyes to open, when she finally did she noticed a blurry face peering at her.<br>"Well well" said the voice of the person standing over her.  
>It took a few seconds until her vision cleared and she realized it was Filch standing over her with a smirk upon his face.<br>A sudden wave of confusion came over her as she groaned with pain before sitting up.  
>The castle was filled with natural light and the Fat Lady was staring at her in disbelief.<br>No. She thought. Panic struck, it was morning. The sun was barely up and the sky was lightening. Most of her professors would surely be awake and she was directly outside of Gryffindor Tower, where students would soon be exiting from. Where Ron, Harry. and Ginny would soon be stepping out of.  
>"Mr. Filch"<br>Already, the dread was settling at what was soon to happen.  
>She would take the walk of shame to the Headmaster's office, night things and all.<br>It made her stomach gnarl and twist in discomfort, the embarrassment. She reeked of Vodka, and she was sure there was no way out of her situation.


End file.
